Happy 25Th Birthday to my Brother

I just had to do a quick post to say Happy 25Th Birthday to the best Brother! We love you Snookie...YES, my Sisters and I call our Brother Snookie(his real name is Derek). He's been Snookie long before the show Jersey Shore existed, so NO, we did not get it from that show. Hope you had a wonderful day. All our LOVE! Your German Chocolate Cake Balls will be in the mail soon.

Inspired By Sand and the Sea

Now that we are well into sharing Summer decor all over blog land, here is my Summer Mantle...Finally! I was very much inspired this year to decorate in blues, whites, and natural grey tones. For the blues, I used my THRIFTED SEAHORSE & my MADE OVER MIRROR!
For the whites I used my FREE FRAMES inspired by a Pottery Barn catalog & THE SALT DOUGH STARFISH. A few things I've had on hand for a long time are the Shells and the letter "J" for our last name. As for the grey, the driftwood will be in a post to come and the rocks, well it's helpful to have two boys that think rocks are a good thing to bring to mommy as a gift! I love my boys.
So there you have it! I'll be sharing some other ways that I decorate for Summer, but till then I hope you can find some inspiration in nature that will help you decorate your home.
I am so excited that the official start to Summer is almost here!

I linked up:

Blue Cricket Design

Someday Crafts

Elements Interiors

The Shabby Nest

French Country Cottage

Make The Best Of What's Around Is Now On Facebook

I finally gave my blog it's own Facebook page! So, if you don't like following along blogger style, you can now check out all my projects and other links that I like on Facebook. Or if you want to follow along both ways...that's great too! You can click on the "Like" button over on my sidebar or head over to my page and give it a "Like" Thanks for following. Happy Monday Everyone!

If Pottery Barn Can Do It...

So Can I!
OK, I know mine aren't as Fancy Pants as Pottery Barn's. However, theirs are $129 & mine were FREE. The two smaller frames I use all the time with pictures in them and the bigger frame was just hiding in a closet. It got a quick coat of white paint and a bit of sanding.
I was trying to figure out something to put on our shelves for Summer and I saw the Pottery Barn version in one of their catalogs. Why not? I think it looks pretty cute with a bit of a beach/whitewash look. Add a Salt Dough Starfish and some driftwood...there ya go. I'll share the rest of the mantle with you in a few days!

I'm starting something new today! All week long I see so many wonderful projects and ideas from other bloggers that I just have to share some of them. So, I'm going start posting Friday Favorites @ Make The Best Of What's Around. They will be in no particular order, just my three favorite things I've come across during the week! Make sure to stop by their blog and comment on the wonderful projects. Happy Friday Everyone!
Check out these wood pallets turned into book shelves! How creative. http://www.littlelucylu.com/2011/05/from-pallet-to-bookshelves.html. Head on over and check out her blog....lots of cute ideas.

Next up is this adorable growth chart! I've been wanting to make one of these for so long now. http://thecellardoorstories.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-growth-chart.html I am inspired to get the materials to make this. Love it.

Finally, Do you want to be the hit with the kids?! Make one of these bad boys. How cool is this idea?! My boys are in love with this and want me to make one(i just might attempt it) Head over and visit http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/05/bite-into-summer-vacation.html for some great ideas.

Hope you enjoyed the first edition of Friday Favorites!

If your project was featured, go ahead and grab my button on the sidebar.

*still working on an official Feature Button

Salt Dough Starfish

I was browsing through some blogs the other day and came across Lucy's blog, Craftberry Bush
"/>

I Just loved her idea of making Starfish out of clay. Go on over and check out Lucy's Post. I decided to try to make these little guys out of Salt Dough because I had everything on hand. It's an easy recipe: 1 Cup Flour, 1 Cup Salt, 1/2 Cup Water plus more if you need. By the way, have you seen the price of these little guys...about $6 per one Starfish. Way too much for me. Free is better!

Wouldn't you know, when making these I didn't have my camera! However, they are easy to make. Just a little sculpting is all it takes. I used a fork to poke the holes in the arms and a knife to make the lines down each arm. Put them in an oven set to warm and dry them for about 2 hours. I flipped mine over for the last 1/2 hour to dry the underside. Next, take a nail file or block sander and smooth out any rough edges. Last, I used Ceramcoat Oyster White paint and gave them a quick coat. That's all there is to it....very easy!

I know, up close they are not perfect, but for Free they'll do just fine for my Summer decor!

These guys are everywhere and in every Summer decorating magazine! I hope you'll give them a try if you're like me and don't want to spend a ton of money. This made me and my two boys happy...While I was making these, I gave my boys the extra dough to play with. Who says you can't decorate and play with your kids at the same time. HAVE FUN!

I linked up to these parties:

The Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on The Fridge, A Little Knick Knack,

Lovely Crafty Weekend

Tatertots and Jello

Nifty Thrifty Things

Under The Table And Dreaming

Domestically Speaking

Blue Cricket Design

Someday Crafts

Homework

Happy ONE YEAR Blogging Anniversary To Me!

I can't believe it's been a year already. Time goes so fast when you're having fun, and I am certainly having lots of fun learning the In's and outs of blogging every day! I just love the creative people I get to follow along with and that follow me. I never thought anyone would be interested in the small projects I do, but some people are! I have to give a big thanks to my Sister-in-law Brittany who strongly encouraged me to start all of this. Without her words of affirmation, I would have never stuck my neck out and gave it a try...I'm so glad I did. I can't wait to keep sharing all my ideas, makeovers and projects that I come up with and hope that soon I'll start doing my own link parties so others can share their ideas and expand their followers through my blog. I love this world of blogging! So, today I thought I'd share with you my

TOP 5 MOST VIEWED PROJECTS THAT I HAVE DONE IN MY FIRST YEAR OF BLOGGING.

*For those of you who don't blog, you can keep track of your numbers and page views and which have been the most popular.

So, here they are starting with the Number 1 most viewed project:

1. My Dollar Store Monster Makeover takes the top spot. http://johnsonfamily23.blogspot.com/2010/08/pre-halloween-craft-i-know-its-little.html

2. Some Kitchen pictures that I made over with some paint and graphic art.
http://johnsonfamily23.blogspot.com/2011/01/before-and-after-i-had-these-two.html

3. Also a makeover, Halloween Blocks turned into something Thankful! http://johnsonfamily23.blogspot.com/2010/10/give-thanks-once-again-i-have-something.html


4. Another Dollar Store Makeover. This cute little bird got painted and glittered! http://johnsonfamily23.blogspot.com/2010/12/snowbird-dollar-store-makeover-i-found.html

5. These cool windows from Habitat For Humanity got hung up as artwork in my living room. http://johnsonfamily23.blogspot.com/2011/02/windows-continued-i-just-love-how-these.html

There you have it...my TOP 5 most viewed projects of my first year blogging! I can't wait to see what this 2ND year will bring....thanks for following along!

*Tanya